Rising on the Storm: A Comparison of the Characteristics of Entrepreneurs and New Ventures During and Before the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examines unique characteristics of newly-minted businesses and outlines emerging challenges for starting a new business during a pandemic. Business origination more than tripled in 2020 compared to 2019 and is on track to set another record in 2021. While 'covidginated' businesses are more likely to be based on hobbies and have a social mission, 'covidpreneurs' indicated relatively low level of technology readiness. Availability and access to capital, time, and talent pool were identified as contributing factors to forming a business amidst the pandemic. The authors derive a taxonomy of covidginated businesses via cluster analysis and discuss policy implications.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, COVID